Shifts in the market and personal interests led to changes at Adirondack Audio & Video, an established company with locations in upstate New York and—as HiFi Loft—in Manhattan. The company recently split into two separate entities. Under new ownership by a former partner/employee, just before Labor Day, 2023, HiFi Loft spun off from…
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Before and since the pandemic, many traditional hi-fi dealerships evolved to expand the products and services they offer—into custom install and home integration, in particular. There has also been a bit of a multichannel/home theater resurgence.
Morten Lindberg of Norwegian music label 2L.
On this page in Stereophile's December 2023 issue, contributing editor (and mastering engineer) Tom Fine and I described a press event at which Apple Corps (the Beatles umbrella corporation) presented the news about the (at the time) forthcoming new Beatles single and the forthcoming "remixed" reissues of the "Red" and "Blue" Beatles compilations. Tom attended the event—which, notably, was held at Dolby headquarters here in New York City, reflecting, apparently, Apple Corps' interest in Dolby Atmos. At the event, demos were presented in the…
Jerome Sabbagh: Vintage
Sabbagh, saxophone; Kenny Barron, piano; Joe Martin, bass; Johnathan Blake, drums
Sunnyside SSC 1698 (LP). 2023. Jerome Sabbagh, prod.; Ryan Streber, Pete Rende, Bernie Grundman, engs.
Performance ****
Sonics ****½
Sabbagh, saxophone; Kenny Barron, piano; Joe Martin, bass; Johnathan Blake, drums
Sunnyside SSC 1698 (LP). 2023. Jerome Sabbagh, prod.; Ryan Streber, Pete Rende, Bernie Grundman, engs.
Performance ****
Sonics ****½
This is an album with serious audiophile cred. It was recorded to analog tape on a Studer A800 MKIII at 30ips, by Ryan Streber at Oktaven Audio in Mount Vernon, New York. It was mixed, also at 30ips, on a custom, tubed Ampex 351, by Pete Rende. Bernie Grundman mastered it for vinyl and cut the lacquer, direct from the analog tape, on an…
As I was preparing our annual Records to Die For feature for 2021, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, it occurred to me that at such a moment, "Records to Die For" didn't evoke the same feelings it once did. That name—for what has become Stereophile's most popular feature—had started out light-hearted, derived from a 1980s pop-culture idiom, which eventually found expression in several book and movie titles as well as at least one Death-Metal band. In late 1990, as the 1991 feature was being prepared, it didn't seem so light-hearted at a time of so much death and suffering. At such times…
John Atkinson
Henning Sommerro: Borders
Trondheim Symphony Orchestra, Nick Davies, cond., Sigmund Groven, harmonica; Roar Engelberg, pan flute; Marianne Thorsen, violin
2L 2L-173-SABD (Pure Audio Blu-ray & hybrid SACD/MQA CD; available for download as 7.1.4 48k Dolby Atmos TrueHD, 7.1.4 96k Auro-3D, 5.1 24/192 DTS:X, discrete 24/88.2 and DXD 7.1.4 immersive, and 24/192 PCM, 24/352.8 MQA and DXD stereo). 2023. Morten Lindberg, prod., balance, editing, mix, and mastering eng. TT: 48:04
As readers of my reviews will be aware, I judge stereo imaging accuracy by…
Larry Birnbaum
Jimmie Lunceford: Lunceford Special: 1939–1940
Columbia CK 65647 (CD). 2001. Charles L. Granata, reissue prod.; Andreas Meyer, remastering.
Lunceford led one of the swingingest bands of the big-band era, noted for its skin-tight precision, distinctive two-beat rhythm, and stylistic flexibility, embracing both sweet and hot jazz. This is an outstanding collection from the band's peak period, showcasing its silky ensemble work and such first-rate soloists as trumpeter Snooky Young, trombonist Trummy Young, and saxophonists Willie Smith and Joe Thomas.…
Kurt Gottschalk
Kate Bush: The Dreaming
EMI America ST-17084 (LP). 1983. Kate Bush, prod.; Ron McMaster, eng.
Kate Bush's true masterpiece has lived in the shadows of its successor for four decades, a fate worsened by the resurgence last year of the later album's "Running Up That Hill." The tribal drumming and Fairlight synth were there on The Dreaming's opening and title tracks, without the believe-in-yourself messaging. Instead, we get a thirst for knowledge and an Australian automobile accident. Elsewhere, there's bank robbers and magicians, not to mention a…
Sasha Matson
Tower Of Power: 50 Years Of Funk & Soul: Live At The Fox Theater, Oakland
Chester Thompson, Jerry Cortez, Lenny Pickett, Emilio Castillo, David Garibaldi, others Artistry Music ART7078LP (LP/CD). 2021. Joe Vannelli, Emilio Castillo, prods.; many engs.
Tower of Power played the '60s San Francisco psychedelic ballrooms, but they were East Bay all the way—Oakland, baby! With a large, smokin' horn section, the Tower could find the soul pocket and kick it, almost like they were in Memphis. As the leadoff track clearly puts it, "It ain't no joke, they done…
Herb Reichert
Isabelle Faust: Stravinsky: Histoire Du Soldat (Version Français), élégie, Duo Concertant
Harmonia Mundi/Qobuz (24/96 FLAC). 2021. Martin Sauer, prod., Sauer, Julian Schwenkner, eng.
My relationship to contemporary classical musicians, like my current favorite violinist Isabelle Faust, is pure fanboy. More than simply admiring their playing or musical insight, I become enamored with their persona. And sometimes I become obsessed with their latest album. Such is the case with Faust's incredibly well-recorded version of Stravinsky's Faustian parable L'…
Bluetooth headphones have brought me joy for years—sometimes a little too much. Once, while waiting for a flight at my regional airport, I switched on the active noise cancellation, closed my eyes, and got so sucked in by Elvis Costello's album Imperial Bedroom that I didn't hear the boarding calls. It was no fun texting my client that I'd missed my flight. I fibbed that I'd been stuck in traffic, because blaming Costello for delivering such an immersive triumph would've been uncouth.
Kind of blue
For all their convenience, Bluetooth headphones and earbuds have fundamental problems.…